Page 42 - Phonebox Magazine December 2012

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By the time this article reaches you there will have been elections in Sierra Leone for the position of President, and also for Members of Parliament. Whilst the British media were full of reports about the American Presidential election
there will have been none about the goings on in Sierra Leone. This might seem irrelevant, but to the people of Salone [as they often call their country] the elections are all consuming. Consider this, there is effectively no television, newspapers do exist but many citizens are they missed out on education. Unlike America this country of Salone cannot spend Billions of dollars on election campaigning. There are numerous languages spoken and without electricity many do not
even possess a radio. So how do the people get to know about the candidates, policies etc. for which they are expected to vote? There are many public meetings called throughout the country, which for
the most part is jungle with communities spread throughout and with poor communications of roads and tracks. Add into this equation the weather which can produce extreme downpours of heavy rain making travel impossible. Few people have cars so cannot reach meetings many miles away.
are allocated certain days in each area for them to campaign, to them on the ballot paper. Prior to the elections every individual on the electoral roll has to undergo biometric recording, and this is followed up by checks to ensure no duplication and any violator is brought to court. Since the civil war which lasted over ten years and affected all their lives they are very vociferous in their politics, even more than
they are during their normal daily lives, and are far more participatory in politics than is evident in the UK.
Life at present is severely disrupted during the election period
and we understand that some schools will be closed for two weeks around the elections, presumably to avoid the disruptions of the politicking. The elections are the only thought evident in their minds,
to the exclusion of all else! The communication systems seem to be the mobile phone system which appears to be unable to cope with
the present demand. During 2007 when the last elections were held there were international observers who reported that they were full
and fair, and passed off peacefully. Interestingly the country seemed to be split diagonally across the country, with the winning party, the APC [All Peoples Congress], taking the North Western half, and
half, there being a melding of voting across the central diagonal
area. The Capital, Freetown, is located in the NW of the country
and naturally has a concentration of Krio speaking people who are mainly descendants of released slaves from the days of the Colony established at the time of the Abolition of Slavery. This period will be
a very interesting time, and a challenge to the Salonean people to to continue the redevelopment of their country which has proceeded well since the early 2000s following the ending of their war. Those
of us who have visited Salone know that they are a very friendly and determined people to whom we wish to give every support possible as fellow members of the Commonwealth.
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42 Phonebox Magazine